Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Tightknit Communities Pose Unique Challenge To Public Health Officials During Outbreaks
In 2017 it was a Somali community in Minnesota. In 2014 it was the Amish in Ohio. This year, it is Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and Eastern Europeans in Washington state. Insular and close-knit religious or cultural groups have seen some of the worst measles outbreaks in the U.S. in recent years. About 75% of measles outbreaks over the past five years—defined as three or more linked cases—took place in such tightknit communities, says Nancy Messonnier, acting director of the CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response, and an expert on immunization and respiratory diseases. (Reddy, 4/15)
Mayor Bill de Blasio has fostered a close relationship with the city’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community during his political rise in New York. He represented the Orthodox neighborhood of Borough Park, Brooklyn, when he sat on the City Council, and that community coalesced behind Mr. de Blasio when he ran for public advocate and then mayor. Mr. de Blasio has courted donors from the Orthodox community and gave at least two of them, Jona S. Rechnitz and Jeremiah Reichberg, spots on his first inauguration committee. (Mays, 4/15)
Some school districts in the U.S. are booting unvaccinated students from campuses where infectious-disease cases have been confirmed, as the spread of measles accelerates in some states. Birmingham Public Schools in Michigan recently told families with students at Derby Middle School that students who are unvaccinated against measles have to stay out of school for 21 days after one child was diagnosed with the disease. (Hobbs, 4/13)
In other news on other outbreaks around the country —
As the recent measles outbreak in Clark County has shown, a disease being preventable doesn’t mean people will do what they can to prevent it. A disease once thought eradicated can come roaring back if not enough people are vaccinated against it. Public-health officials and doctors face myriad obstacles when trying to persuade patients to get vaccinated. The trouble can range from falsehoods spread on social media, to lax laws, to tailoring messages for a wide range of audiences. (Blethen, 4/13)
According to the CDC, the percentage of Ohio toddlers who have received the recommended doses of vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella has declined in recent years. National Immunization Survey data showed 95.6 percent of 19- to 35-month-old Ohio children had the vaccine in 2014. But by 2017, the percentage had dropped to 88.3 percent. (Price, 4/12)
Health officials have confirmed a third case of the measles in Connecticut this year. An adult from New Haven County was exposed to the disease last month during a visit to Brooklyn, N.Y., the state Department of Public Health said Friday. (Carlesso, 4/12)
